Two word sentences in english

If «sentence» means a chunk of writing that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, then the answer is yes. What you’ve written is not «bad» or «wrong.» It’s something people do for rhetorical effect, such as to sound dramatic. In genres like creative writing, fiction, or just informal writing in general, you can do things like that.

If «sentence» means what sentence usually means, the answer is still «yes»—but the two-word things that you’ve written here are not sentences; they’re noun phrases. For that reason, if this was in a paper that was being graded, the instructor MIGHT dislike them. If the instructor dislikes them, he/she will probably call them «fragments». Sentences usually have a subject (something doing the action or that the sentence is about) and a predicate (what the subject is doing or more information about the subject). Examples of two-word sentences that everyone would agree are «complete sentences» are «Dogs bark» (Subject Verb), «I slept» (Subject Verb), and «We left» (Subject Verb).

If «sentence» means «utterance» or «turn at speaking,» the answer is also «yes». We can even have one-word utterances, like «Yes» or «Goodbye.»

In other words, the sample of your writing that you’ve shared sounds perfectly fine, but not everyone would refer your two-word things as «sentences»—and SOME instructors might circle them with a red pen and call them «fragments».

Read Tommy Tomlinson’s description of a snowy day. Notice that he writes in the simple past tense and only uses two-word sentences (a subject and a verb).

Snow fell.

Flakes floated. Clumps stuck. Drifts formed. Mounds rose. Grass vanished. Trees sagged. Birds hid. Whiteness ruled.

Shut-ins watched. Slackers slept. Couples smooched. Singles wished. Natives compared. Newcomers scoffed. Babies dozed. Elders remembered.

Computers crackled. Pagers beeped. Newspapers thudded. TVs flickered. Radios blared. Callers chattered. Critics grumbled. Weathermen apologized.

Workers drove. Roads iced. Sidewalks crunched. Tires skidded. Cars crashed. Drivers cussed. Cops muttered. Survivors exhaled.

Snow fell.

Skies darkened. Sleet spattered. Rain froze. Fog swirled. Buildings dissolved. Landmarks retreated. Perspectives narrowed. Cities shrank.

Schools closed. Parents shrieked. Work halted. Employees departed. Interstates clogged. Buses crawled. Teachers high-fived. Kids rejoiced.

Hills beckoned. Slopes summoned. Sleds careened. Toboggans flipped. Snowmen towered. Snowballs soared. Bodies flattened. Angels appeared.

Tongues extended. Snowflakes landed. Hands molded. Feet stomped. Ears reddened. Fingers tingled. Mittens dampened. Noses ran.

Snow fell.

Wind whistled. Chimes tinkled. Limbs groaned. Dogs barked. Ground hardened. Ponds glazed. Snowdrifts crusted. Temperatures dropped.

Closeness mattered. Kinfolk called. Friends connected. Neighbors shared. Volunteers gave. Strangers helped. Clerks assisted. Cashiers smiled.

Wires popped. Transformers exploded. Power blinked. Clocks stopped. Fridges defrosted. Victims shuddered. Linemen mended. Candles burned.

Operators dispatched. Trucks towed. Mechanics tinkered. Engines cranked. EMTs rescued. Firefighters hosed. Officers probed. Doctors healed.

Snow fell.

Heaps collected. Piles enlarged. Masses expanded. Clearings faded. Angles rounded. Edges smoothed. Shapes blended. Colors disappeared.

Shovelers heaved. Runners puffed. Skiers schussed. Skaters searched. Hunters crouched. Fishermen shivered. Flasks opened. Bellies warmed.

Poets scribbled. Artists sketched. Photographers focused. Singers hummed. Inventors dreamed. Grifters schemed. Counselors soothed. Preachers prayed.

Coffee perked. Tea steeped. Cocoa foamed. Bourbon swirled. Soup simmered. Casseroles baked. Marshmallows roasted. Popcorn popped.

Snow fell.

Clouds parted. Precipitation ended. Sunshine emerged. Icicles melted. Water puddled. Eaves dripped. Snowbanks sank. Plenty remained.

Dark came. Slush solidified. Ice blackened. Highways slickened. Students hoped. Travelers worried. Storms poised. Forecasts wavered.

Midnight ticked. Peace settled. Sounds quieted. Movement stilled. Light reflected. Darkness shined. Thoughts overflowed.

Weather changed. Challenges abounded. Humanity won. Kindness prevailed. Hearts lightened. Memories accumulated.

People learned.

Nature taught.

Snow fell.

Describe a situation  with your own two-word sentences.

ENGLISH GRAMMAR   Alphabet Vowels & Consonants Word Building Sentences Articles Cardinal-Ordinal Numbers Noun Pronoun Verb Adverb Adjective Preposition Conjunction Interjection Tenses Opposites Active & Passive Voice Direct & Indirect Speech Vocabulary CONJUCTION Types of Conjunctions Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions Correlative Conjunctions TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS «Conjunction used to Join two Words / Sentences» A conjunction is a word or a group of words that connect two words, phrases, clauses or any two sentences. Conjunction merely joins and does not do any other work. Unlike Relative Pronoun Conjunction refers to noun, Relative Adverbs modifies verbs and Prepositions it governs a noun/pronoun which are also connecting words. Some of the important conjunctions are- after, and, as, but, because, before, hence, that, till, if, since, so, though, although, unless, until, when, while, whether, either, neither, or, even, even if, even so, how, however, in case, in spite of, otherwise, what etc. Conjunction word used to: Joins two words Joins two sentences and Makes them compact / short sentences. Examples: Join two Words • Two and two (makes four.) • Sita and Geeta (are friends.) Join two Sentences • Ramesh and Suresh are good friends.   Note : Ramesh is a good friend and Suresh is a good friend • I like tea and coffee.   Note : I like tea. I like coffee. Makes compact / short sentences • The person is poor but an honest.   Note : The person is poor but (s)he is an honest   Types of Conjunctions (1) Coordinating Conjunctions (2) Subordinating Conjunctions (3) Correlative Conjunctions   Conjunction / Linking verbs     To Express Conjunction / Linking Verbs   Addition And, As, Also, As well as, Both, Not Only, Too   Choice Or, Either…or, Neither…nor   Condition If, Even if, Unless, Until, As long as   Contrast While, On the other hand, But, However   Reason Because, As, Since, Therefore, So   Purpose To, In order to, For, So as to   Result So, Therefore, As a result, So..that   Example Like, Such as, For example   Time As, After, Before, Since, Till, Until, Since You may also like to see Types of Conjunctions Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions Correlative Conjunctions

What this handout is about

This handout gives an overview of English sentence patterns. It will help you identify subjects, verbs, and clause connectors so you can analyze your writing style and improve it by using a variety of sentence patterns.
Click here for a one page summary of the English sentence patterns discussed on this handout.

Subjects, Verbs, and Clauses

In its simplest form, an English sentence has two parts: a subject and a verb that express a complete thought when they are together.

• The subject shows who or what is doing the action. It is always some form of noun or pronoun.
• The verb shows the action or the state of being. It can be an action verb, like “run,” or a state verb, like “seem.”

Examples of simple two word sentences include:

Marvin slept.

Dogs bark.

Isotopes react.

Real sentences are rarely so short. We usually want to convey much more information, so we modify the main subject and verb with other words and phrases, as in the sentences below:

Unfortunately, Marvin slept fitfully.

Dogs bark louder after midnight.

Heavy isotopes react more slowly than light isotopes of the same element.

Despite the extra information, each of these sentences has one subject and one verb, so it’s still just one clause. What’s a clause?

A clause is the combination of a subject and a verb. When you have a subject and verb, you have a clause. Pretty easy, isn’t it? We’re going to concentrate on clauses in this handout, with emphasis on these two in particular:

1. Independent clause: a subject and verb that make a complete thought. Independent clauses are called independent because they can stand on their own and make sense.
2. Dependent clause: a subject and verb that don’t make a complete thought. Dependent clauses always need to be attached to an independent clause (they’re too weak to stand alone).

We’ll talk more about dependent clauses later on, but also see our handout on fragments for a more detailed description of these types of clauses.

Something tricky

Before we move on to the sentence types, you should know a little trick of subjects and verbs: they can double up in the same clause. These are called “compound” subjects or verbs because there are two or more of them in the same clause.

Compound subject (two subjects related to the same verb):

Javier and his colleagues collaborated on the research article.

Compound verb (two verbs related to the same subject):

Javier conducted the experiment and documented the results.

Compound subject with compound verb:

Javier, his colleagues, and their advisor drafted and revised the article several times.

Notice that they don’t overlap. You can tell that it’s only one clause because all of the subjects in one clause come before all of the verbs in the same clause.

Four Basic Patterns

Every sentence pattern below describes a different way to combine clauses. When you are drafting your own papers or when you’re revising them for sentence variety, try to determine how many of these patterns you use. If you favor one particular pattern, your writing might be kind of boring if every sentence has exactly the same pattern. If you find this is true, try to revise a few sentences using a different pattern.

NOTE: Because nouns can fill so many positions in a sentence, it’s easier to analyze sentence patterns if you find the verbs and find the connectors. The most common connectors are listed below with the sentence patterns that use them.

In the descriptions below, S=Subject and V=Verb, and options for arranging the clauses in each sentence pattern given in parentheses. Connecting words and the associated punctuation are highlighted in brown. Notice how the punctuation changes with each arrangement.

Pattern 1: Simple Sentence

One independent clause (SV.)

Mr. Potato Head eats monkeys.

I refuse.

Try this: Look for sentences in your own text that have only one clause. Mark them with a certain color so they stand out.

Pattern 2: Compound Sentence

Two or more independent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV.) or (SV; however, SV.)

Connectors with a comma, the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (See our handout on commas for more info.)

Connectors with a semicolon and comma: however, moreover, nevertheless, nonetheless, therefore

Example compound sentences:

Mr. Potato Head eats them for breakfast every day, but I don’t see the attraction.

Eating them makes him happy; however, he can’t persuade me.

Try this:

• Scan your own text to find the compound connectors listed above. Circle them.
• Find the verb and the subject of the clauses on both sides of the connectors.
• Highlight your compound sentences with a color that’s different from the one you used to mark your simple sentences.

Pattern 3: Complex Sentence

One independent clause PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV.) or (S, because SV, V.)

Connectors are always at the beginning of the dependent clause. They show how the dependent clause is related to the independent clause. This list shows different types of relationships along with the connectors that indicate those relationships:

• Cause/Effect: because, since, so that
• Comparison/Contrast: although, even though, though, whereas, while
• Place/Manner: where, wherever, how, however
• Possibility/Conditions: if, whether, unless
• Relation: that, which, who, whom
• Time: after, as, before, since, when, whenever, while, until

Examples of complex sentences:

He recommends them highly because they taste like chicken when they are hot.

Although chicken always appeals to me, I still feel skeptical about monkey.

Mrs. Potato Head, because she loves us so much, has offered to make her special monkey souffle for us.

She can cook it however she wants.

Although I am curious, I am still skeptical.

Try this:

• Scan your own text to find the complex connectors listed above. Circle them.
• Find the verb and the subject of the clauses that goes with each connector, remembering that the dependent clause might be in between the subject and verb of the independent clause, as shown in the arrangement options above.
• Highlight your complex sentences with a color that’s different from the one you used to mark your simple sentences.

Pattern 4: Compound-Complex Sentence

Two or more independent clauses PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV, but SV.)

Connectors: Connectors listed under Patterns 2 & 3 are used here. Find the connectors, then find the verbs and subjects that are part of each clause.

Mr. Potato Head said that he would share the secret recipe; however, if he does, Mrs. Potato Head will feed him to the piranhas, so we are both safer and happier if I don’t eat monkeys or steal recipes.

Try this: Use a fourth color to highlight the compound-complex sentences in your text (the ones with at least two independent and at least one dependent clauses).

Look at the balance of the four different colors. Do you see one color standing out? Do you notice one missing entirely? If so, examine your text carefully while you ask these questions:

• Could you separate some of the more complex sentences?
• Could you combine some of the shorter sentences?
• Can you use different arrangement options for each of the sentence patterns?
• Can you use different connectors if you change the order of the clauses?

---

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift